Chairman of the Albany County Legislature Sean Ward speaks during the announcement of a new regional immigrant assistance program Friday Jan. 22, 2016 in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Chairman of the Albany County Legislature Sean Ward speaks during the announcement of a new regional immigrant assistance program Friday Jan. 22, 2016 in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

County comptroller Mike Conners, left, and Deputy County attorney Evelyn Kinnah during the announcement of a new regional immigrant assistance program Friday Jan. 22, 2016 in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) less

County comptroller Mike Conners, left, and Deputy County attorney Evelyn Kinnah during the announcement of a new regional immigrant assistance program Friday Jan. 22, 2016 in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale ... more

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy is high on a new legal center to help immigrants — and low on presidential candidate Donald Trump.

McCoy fired a few shots in the tycoon's direction Friday while announcing the formation of a 14-county Regional Immigration Assistance Center based in Albany County, a center that will help legal — and illegal — indigent immigrants avoid problems, such as pleading guilty to offenses without knowing the consequences.

"He has set a tone in this nation on hate," McCoy, a Democrat, said of Trump, who has been leading polls as a Republican candidate for the presidency. "We've gone to wars for less than what he's been doing, and he's stirring a pot that shouldn't be to get votes and it's not a good thing to do."

Last month, McCoy met with members of the Capital Region's Muslim community and denounced Trump's proposal to block Muslims from entering the U.S. and Trump's earlier support for a database for all Muslims living in the U.S.

"I think Mr. Trump must have forgot (his family) immigrated to this country," McCoy said. "It's a time to come together and stand. That's what makes this nation so great ... we've come too far. He's bringing us back and we can't have that."

The crowd applauded McCoy.

The new regional center will be directed by Albany County Public Defender James Milstein, who will leave his post for the new job beginning March 1 at his current annual salary of $114,836. McCoy said a search will start for a new public defender.

The center will be funded by the state Office of Indigent Legal Services, which announced last year that six regions in the state would get grant money to set up centers. The Albany-based center will receive $450,000 a year over three years, the money all coming from the state.

The centers are in compliance with a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that mandates defense lawyers must advise noncitizen clients about risks a guilty plea can have on their immigration status. The center will not provide attorneys for the defendants for their case, but will offer advice, McCoy said.

McCoy said his office applied for the grant because it bothers him that immigrants who are victims of crimes are afraid to speak to police because of their illegal status.

"We want to say, 'If you're here, we're going to protect you. You have just as many rights as anyone else here in this country,'" McCoy told reporters. "If they're here illegally and they get raped or they get mugged, don't they have a right to fair representation? If I was in a foreign country and that happened to me I would want to believe and hope that that government would give me the same rights as a citizen in that country so I can prosecute that person."